


100,000 Airplanes, V2

by SerialObsessor (ibelieveinturtles)



Series: It Could Become a Saga [10]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Airplanes, Gen, Public Memorials, Time Travel, the rift - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-21
Packaged: 2018-08-10 02:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7826671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieveinturtles/pseuds/SerialObsessor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwen and Jack get caught by the Rift</p>
            </blockquote>





	100,000 Airplanes, V2

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [100,000 Airplanes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7518350) by [SerialObsessor (ibelieveinturtles)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibelieveinturtles/pseuds/SerialObsessor). 



> Originally written for writerinadrawer, I forgot the added element (a coin) and got put in my drawer ;-) So I decided to expand it a bit and see what I could come up with.

 

Gwen edged carefully around the corner of the building, gun held ready at her shoulder, and all her senses alert for anything strange or out of place. Everything looked normal though, everyday ordinary, not a thing out of place or unusual. She spoke softly into her earpiece, “Tosh? How much further?”

“You’re almost on top of it.” Tosh replied from her position back at the Hub, perched in front of the bank of monitors, the screens flickering as signals jumped and jerked. “Just a few more meters. Can you see anything?”

Gwen shook her head absent mindedly, then recalled herself and replied. “There’s nothing there… oh, hang on.” As Gwen looked on, the air in front of her began to shimmer, and she cautiously took another step towards it. “There’s a kind of flickering just above the ground about ten meters in front of me. Jack, can you see it from where you are?”

Jack had gone in the opposite direction to Gwen and was now approaching the source of the disturbance from the other side of the building, “I’m not quite there yet. Owen, is there anything where you are? Tosh, how are the readings?”

Tosh typed away furiously at her keyboard as she analysed the various signals coming in from the Rift. “It’s getting stronger. Whatever it is it’s big and it’s almost through. The signals in Owen’s area have all died right off though, it’s almost non-existent there now.” Suddenly alarms began going off and the Rift readings peaked at unbelievable highs. “Something’s happening, you’d better get out of there quick! The readings have all spiked off the charts and the Rift’s going crazy.” She watched the screens anxiously as she waited to hear what was happening.

“How’s it going?” Ianto asked quietly as he placed a coffee on her desk.

Tosh glanced at him with a worried look on her face, “There’s just been a huge spike in Rift energy, there’s something really big happening out there but… Oh!” A loud burst of static and feedback cut through Tosh’s earpiece. She automatically clapped her hands to her ears trying to block the sound out, screaming with agony as Ianto pulled her hands away and ripped the transmitter out of her ear just as she passed out.

 

~x~x~

 

The shimmer in front of Gwen began to writhe and expand, and as she hurriedly backed away from it, she stumbled on a loose brick and fell to the ground. The air in front of her ripped open and the sky lit up with a bright flare of light as she flung her arms up to shield her eyes.

As the light faded Gwen lowered her arms and then carefully climbed to her feet. As she looked around she realised that the scenery had changed dramatically. All the surrounding buildings had been reduced to rubble, and from what she could see it looked as if it had been many years since any of them had stood. She was standing in a deserted wasteland, ruins as far as she could see in every direction. Stunted trees were clinging to life in nooks and crannies, pools of stagnant water lay on the ground breeding mosquitoes and other bloody sucking insects, and she was careful not to look closely at what she suspected were the remains of whoever had last lived her.

“Jack?” There was no soft reply in her ear as usual. “Jack?” she tried again, finger on the switch of her earpiece as she tried in vain to hear an answer. Her hand dropped to her side as she realised she was alone in this desolate place. “JACK!”

As she gazed around in shock and confusion her attention was caught by the sun reflecting on something small in one of the pools of water, and she picked up what turned out to be a small coin. She turned it over and looked at it. It was unfamiliar in both design and decoration, like nothing she’d ever seen before. She looked around her again as she turned it over and over in her fingers before putting it in her pocket, and then randomly choosing a direction she began negotiating her way through the ruins.

 

~x~x~

 

“Tosh? Tosh?” the voice sounded like it was at the bottom of a deep well, and a hand rested on her shoulder and gently shook her. “Tosh, can you hear me? Are you ok?” Slowly she climbed back to consciousness, the memory of the agonising feedback filling her memory as Ianto helped her to sit up.

“How long was I out for?” she asked as Ianto handed her a drink of water. “Not long, only a minute or so.” he replied. “I’ve called Owen and he’s on his way back.” Ianto sat back, a strange expression on his face. Tosh looked at him, puzzled, and curious. “What is it? What’s wrong? There’s something wrong isn’t there?” she asked urgently.

Ianto sighed softly and ran his hand through his hair before looking Tosh straight in the eye. “It’s Jack and Gwen, I can’t reach them on the comms and Owen says he hasn’t seen them for a good five minutes now… ever since the Rift readings went crazy. We think they’re missing.”

 

~x~x~

 

Gwen wasn’t sure how long she had been wandering in the ruins for but she had finally found what might once have been a road, as it was slightly less filled with rubble than the areas surrounding it. She had seen no sign of either Jack or Owen, and whilst not quite ready to panic, she was becoming very worried. There was no sign of life other than the underdeveloped plant life, and apart from an almost unnoticeable background hum of what was probably insects, it was very quiet.

She came to a stop in the middle of a curiously flat space of ground. As she looked at it she noticed that it was several meters wide and about two meters tall, and covered with a thick layer of dust and gravel. Something about it caught her attention, and she scuffed at the dirt with her foot, uncovering what looked to be a marble like surface. She bent over and looked closer, eyes squinting as she tried to make out… words! There was writing on it! Falling to her hands and knees she started sweeping the dirt away as fast as she could, uncovering more and more lettering as she did so. She was working furiously when one of the words caught her eye. Torchwood. She stopped in sudden surprise, the shock at seeing the secret organisations’ name on what must have been a public plaque bringing her efforts to a temporary standstill.

Moving almost of their own accord her hands resumed brushing away the filth that covered the giant slab, gradually uncovering part of a fallen monument, the remnants of a wall of remembrance. Gwen concentrated her efforts on the area surrounding the name of Torchwood, and as she tried to decipher the writing on the fallen monument she slowly realised that the background hum had become an audible droning sound that filled the air, penetrated her skull and made her head and jaw ache.

The droning noise got louder, and her attention was inevitably drawn to the sky. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw – the sky was full of airplanes. As far as she could see, from horizon to horizon, thousands of planes filled the sky. She stared in amazement at them until she was startled by a noise behind her and whirled to see Jack making his way across the shattered ground.

“Jack! Thank God! Where are we? What happened?” Gwen asked, the relief in her voice at seeing him laced with a slight hint of hysteria.

Jack carefully picked his way across the ruins towards Gwen, concentrating hard on where he was stepping so as not to put a foot wrong. As he arrived at Gwen ‘s side he looked up into the air and looked intently at the enormous fleet with a strange look in his eyes.

“100,000 airplanes.” he said softly. “The biggest single mobilisation of airpower the world has ever seen, or will ever see.” He gazed up into the air for a bit longer before meeting Gwen’s eyes. “There was… a war… but it wasn’t like any war that had come before it. It involved every country, every nation, every continent on the planet. No-one was left out. The first true World War, it made the wars from the 20th Century look like skirmishes. It almost destroyed the entire planet… Britain was completely obliterated; the Americas were reduced to slag. Europe and Asia were left charred and smoking.” He dropped to the ground, lost in memories, agony fighting horror for space on his face. “I never thought I’d have to see it again.”

Gwen looked at him with shock on her face. “You’ve seen this before? You’ve been here before? Why… how??” her voice trailed off in confusion as she attempted to process what she thought Jack was telling her.

“A long time ago. As to why and how it happened… hardly any records survived, so no one knows why it happened. That’s what I was here for, trying to fill in the gaps. I never did find out anything though.” Jack deliberately misunderstood her question, and when he finished answering her he dropped his head onto his knees, cradling it with his hands while he fought a wave of long buried emotion.

Gwen watched him for a moment, hesitant to touch him at first, but then she gave in, and put her arms around him. “Jack?” He lifted his head and looked at her with a crooked little smile, then climbed back to his feet. He offered her his hand and as she stood up again she remembered the slab of marble she had found.

“Jack, I found something I want you to have a look at.” She showed him the chiselled lines of Torchwoods name etched permanently into the fallen stone wall. “I don’t suppose you know anything about this do you?” she asked frankly.

Jack bent over to look at it. “Well that’s not something I ever expected to see.” He said in mild surprise as he knelt down to get closer. He brushed a bit more of the dirt away, and then slowly read aloud the words he and Gwen had uncovered.

_This plaque is dedicated in honour of all those who worked tirelessly in darkness and shadow; In recognition of their self-sacrifice, courage and determination; and in acknowledgement of those who worked unrecognised and unthanked to keep us safe._

_The men and women of Torchwood fought for their planet with commitment, willpower, strength of mind and body, and great valour._

_This monument recognises and acknowledges their bravery and dedication, and their sacrifices._

_Everything Changed and They Were Ready._

Gwen blinked in surprise. “They made a monument for us?”

Jack shook his head in disbelief, a slight smile on his face as he considered the fallen tribute. “I never dreamed of anything like this.” He said softly, as he bent over again and rubbed more dirt away from the plaque. “Listen to this.”

 

  _This Memorial was Dedicated to the loyal members of Torchwood by the_ "I can't read that bit..." _and unveiled on the 6th day of October in the year_ "...that bit's destroyed as well..." _by Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Third._

 

Gwen listened in amazement as she wandered along the length of the memorial wall, bending down every now and then to rub at a bit of dirt. “Look Jack, there’s list of names and dates over here,” she called out as she read out bits of the writing. “Ellen Gardiner, 1903; Percy Hayward, 1912; Gerald Carter, 1918... And over here, the dates are much more recent…” Gwen’s voice trailed off as she caught sight of a familiar name. “Jack… Suzie’s on this list.”

Jack immediately strode over to where Gwen was and gently took her by the arm and moved her away. “Don’t read any more. It’s a memorial, they all died in Torchwood’s service.”

“But…” Gwen looked back at the wall, temptation warring with common sense.

“Don’t!” Jack said as he shook her gently. Gwen looked at him. “I don’t want you to look at it any more. You don’t need to know…”

“But Jack… if we know… if we’re warned…” Gwen protested half-heartedly.

“NO.” Jack was firm in his denial. “You leave it alone, you can’t change something that’s already happened, and here, it’s ALL already happened.” He watched Gwen closely as she struggled with her own desires. “Gwen, I swear, you go near it again, I’ll Retcon you as soon as we get back!”

Gwen glared at him, “You wouldn’t!”

Jack smirked at her, one eyebrow raised and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “Wouldn’t I! There are some things you don’t need to know, and the possibility of finding your name… or Tosh’s or Ianto’s or Owen’s on that plaque is one of them!”

Gwen slumped in defeat; she knew that Jack was right. He drew her towards him in a consolatory hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly as he held her close to him, offering what little comfort he was able.

“So what do we now?” she sniffled into his shoulder.

“Well, I don’t know about you but I’m actually getting a little hungry.” Jack replied in a teasing tone of voice.

“Jack!” Gwen hit him lightly on the shoulder as she pulled away from him. “I meant…”

“I know what you meant, just trying to lighten the mood a little.” Jack sat back down and started fiddling with his wrist device. “If I can just get this to tune into the Rifts energy signatures then maybe… Ahuh! Got it!!” he continued fiddling with the gadget, attempting to fine tune the signals.

Gwen was only half listening to Jack as her gaze wandered back to the skies above them. The droning noise emanating from the planes had shifted, changed its tone, and as she watched the bottom of each plane began to open.

“Jack…” Gwen stared in horror as thousands of bombs began dropping from the planes. “Jack look… Oh my God…Jack, JACK! GET UP!”

She leant down and pulled on Jack’s arm to get his attention. He looked up at the sky, and as his brain registered what his eyes were seeing he jumped to his feet, grasping Gwen by the arm and pulling her after him as he re-checked his wrist device. “Come on, this way!” he said urgently as he started running.

“What’s going on, what are they doing?” Gwen puffed out as she struggled to keep up with Jack.

“I don’t know, just run!” Jack called back to her, “The Rift is still active but it’s moved a bit. We’ve gotta get back to it before it closes!”

They raced towards the Rift, the rain of bombs starting to batter the ground behind them, the earth shaking with each hit. They ran as fast as they could over the ruined rocky wasteland, the barrage drawing ever closer, filling the sky with fire and turning the land into a furnace of flame and fire. With hell behind her, Gwen tripped and fell into Jack, just as the world exploded and everything went white. They both hit the ground hard, rolling over and over as they tumbled down an embankment and hit a wall with a huge thump. With the wind knocked out of her she just lay there and waited for the world to finish ending, but seconds passed and became minutes, and she realised that she was still alive, and that there was a warm, heavy body lying up against hers. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes… she blinked, looked again, and then breathed a huge sigh of relief at the sight of tall buildings surrounding her, and nothing in the sky except clouds.

 

~x~x~

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for the Torchwood Weekly Writing Challenge at http://torchwoodaustralia.com/forum under the name Obsessed, in 2008.
> 
> All the fics I'll be putting up are also on FanFiction.net but are no longer archived at the TWA.


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